Emergency release for pressure cabin door



July 2, 1957 G. P. PEED, JR

EMERGENCY RELEASE FOR PRESSURE CABIN DOOR 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed March 20,1952.

INVENTOR. spew/v0 p P .0 we.

Mu. 92M

July 2, 1957 G. P. PEED, JR

EMERGENCY RELEASE FOR PRESSURE CABIN DOOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March20, 1952 July 2, 1957 EMERGENCY RELEASE FOR PRESSURE CABIN DOOR FiledMarch 20, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 law.)

July 2 1957 e. P. PEED, JR

EMERGENCY RELEASE FOR PRESSURE CABIN DOOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March20, 1952 w m Zw 0 v M M Z B y 7 M M/ :41 m a Z a \M a z w 0 5 m T aUnited States Patent i EMERGENCY RELEASE. FOR PRESSURE CABIN DOORGarland P. Peed, Jr., Pacific Palisades, Calif., assignor to the UnitedStates of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air ForceApplication March 20, 1952, Serial No. 277,603

3 Claims. (Cl. 244129) This invention relates to pressure cabin doorsfor aircraft and particularly to a door structure which is a combinationof service door and emergency exit.

The pressure cabin door which is the subject of this invention consistsof a relatively large oval panel surrounded by a narrow frame which isin turn freely fitted to another narrow frame which is hinged to swinginwardly in an appropriate opening in the skin of an aircraft. A secondoval panel is spaced apart from the first making a hollow door structurewithin which the necessary mechanism for operating the door may becontained.

When used as a service door, the door is arranged to open inwardly butincludes means whereby the panels and inner frame may be released andjettisoned outward thereby providing an emergency exit when thesituation requires.

-Two separate latching means are provided, both operable from within theaircraft, the one said latching means being adapted for manuallyunlatching the entire door to permit it being swung inward on its hingeswhen being used as a service door, and the other being adapted formanually releasing the inner from the outer frame whereby thepanels maybe jettisoned by pushing them outwardly from the opening.

An objectof the invention is to provide a structure having the abovecharacteristics with maximum effectiveness at minimum cost. I attainthis object in the structure hereinafter described, reference being hadto the drawings wherein Fig. 1 is an elevation of the complete door andframe assembly viewed from the inside of the aircraft.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of one of the six units used inlatching the service door in closed position.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2 showingone unit of the latching means in the fully engaged position.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 except that the latches have beenmoved to open position by means of the service handle and the pull rods.

' Fig. 5 is another view similar to Fig. 4 except that the cables havebeen drawn by the emergency handle whereby I the :panel and its frameare released.

Fig. 6' is a horizontal section taken on the line 66,

of Fig. 1 showing the spring loaded plungers for holding the segments intheir locked position.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 except that the emergency door handlehas been rotated thereby compressing the spring loaded plunger andreleasing the panel. Fig. 8 is an enlarged full line view of theemergency handle viewed from the inside of the aircraft. Fig. 9. is anelevational view of the emergency handle.

Referring to the drawing, an oval door panel 10, large- 2,797,884Patented July 2, 1957 A rolled peripheral section 16 having laterallyextending ribs 18 and 20 is fabricated to form an oval framecorresponding in contour to the outer edge of the formedin position 12of the panel 10, to which it is fastened by joining the flange 12 to theribs 18 by riveting, welding, or other appropriate means.

Another rolled section 22 is similarly secured to the rib 2t) and anouter panel 24 follows the contour of the skin of the aircraft, wherebythe inner panel 10 and outer panel 24 enclose a space 26 in which mostof the operating mechanism of the service door and some of that of theemergency door may be contained (see Fig. l).

Surrounding the rolled peripheral section 16 and ver slightly spacedapart therefrom is a rolled section 28 grooved as at 30 for the flange31 of the rolled section 22, flanged over as at 32, and having alaterally extending flange 34, and a shorter flange 35 to which the skin37 and several reinforcing members 39 are attached. Packing material 43makes a tight seal between the member 28 and the skin 37 of theaircraft. Packing material 45 makes a tight seal between the rolledperipheral section 16 of the panel and the main section 28 of the frame.

Peripherally spaced about the flange 34 are a number of latch boltsupporting brackets 36, each of whichv carry a aircraft. The latch bolts38 are carried on the front end of a rod 44 which, on the end oppositethe latch bolt, have aball 46 formed thereon. Balls 46 rest inappropriate ball sockets 47 (see Fig. 5) formed in the ends of theservice door operating rods 48. These sockets for-the balls 46 are openon'one side and the balls 46 arekept in place by leaf springs 50 but maybe removed from the sockets by movement of the rods '44 transverselytothe axis thereof, the leaf springs 50 flexing sufliciently to permitthe balls to leave their sockets An oval strip 52, flanged upwardly asat 54 for strength, lies above the formed-in portion 12 of the panel 10at its inner periphery and is divided into segments 56 (see Fig. 2) bycutting out sections as at '58. Each segment has a number of pins 60 (4in the instant case) welded v thereto as at 62, the overhanging ends ofthe pins extending first thru the rolled section 16 loosely then thruthe member 28 of the frame somewhat more closely. Push rods 61 are urgedoutwardly by springs 63 against the segments 56, thereby normallykeeping the pins 60 in the member 28. Studs 64 are provided, two in eachsegment for attaching cable ends 66 of the cables 68 for with drawingthe pins 60 from the frame member 28. Light leaf springs are provided asretaining means for the several arcuate segments 56. The assembly shownin normal condition in Figs. 2 and 3 may collectively be referred to bythe numeral 69. The parts shown assembled in Figs. 6 and 7 maycollectively be referred to by the numeral 67.

A sufficient pull on the service door operating rods 48 toward thecenter of the panel 10 will withdraw all of the latch bolts 38 from thestrikes 42 so that the service door and its frame may be swung on itshinges inwardly to open position. Also a suflicient pull on theemergency door operating cables 68 toward the center of the panel therods 48 and cables 68 is shown in Fig. 1. 1 V 1 Pivoted at 71, 72 and 73on the back panel 24 is an upper bell crank 74, a middle bell crank 76and a lower bell crank 78 respectively. A connecting rod 80 joins onelimb of the upper bell crank 74 to one limb of the lower. bell crank 78.A handle 82 is provided and is fastened on to the lower bell crank 78,whereby turning the handle to rock the lower bell crank 78 also rocksthe upper bell crank 74 thereby, thru activation ofthe pull rods 48,withdrawing all six of the latch bolts 38 from the strikes 42simultaneously, whereupon the service door may be swung inward on itshinges 84, inward being toward the observer in Fig. l.

The middle bell crank 76 has four arms 86, two opposite arms 86 beingconnected to segments 56 by the two cables 88. The other pair ofopposite arms 86 are each provided with a single cable 90 having threebranches 92 each of which is connected to two ends of-segments 56 asseen in Fig. 2, pulleys 93 being, provided-for guiding the cables inoperation.

An emergency handle 94, shown to an enlarged scale in Figs. 8 and 9, isrockable about vertical axis 96 which is parallel to the panel 10. Thepanel 10 is slightly depressed as at 98 to receive the handle- 94, thehandle being ribbed'as at 99. A hinge lug 100 carries the hinge pin I02upon which the handle 94 may be swung toward the observer, see Figs. 1and 9; A short cable 104 has one end anchored at 106 thence passes underthe small pulley 108 and has the other end connected to an arm 86 ofabell crank 76 (see Fig. 1). A quick release 110 is provided, to preventinadvertent operation of the emergency handle 94.

The operation of subject invention is substantially as follows:

The combination service and emergency door is shown closed in Fig. 1which shows the door from within the aircraft. If it is desired to openthe door for taking on or discharging passengers, the handle 82 ispressed downward. This operates the six pull rods 48 and the connectingrod 80 to simultaneously pull the latch bolts 38 inward toward thecenter of the panel 10, thus changing the assemblies 69 from thecondition shown in Figs. 2 and 3 to the condition shown in Fig. 4, wherethe latch bolts 38, against the resistance of the springs 40, arewithdrawn from the strikes 42 and the service door latching assembly 69slightly opened by moving it on its hinges inwardly in the direction ofthe arrow 112 away from the skin 37 of the aircraft.

If, on the other hand, it is desired to open the door as an emergencyexit, the safety device 110 is first released, then the emergency handle94 is pulled inward toward the operator, whereby the cable 104 whichpasses under the pulley 108 is drawn up to rotate the bell crank 76.This in turn pulls inward on the two cables 90, whereby the six branchcables are drawn inward, thereby withdrawing the segments 56 whichcontain the pins 60 from the positions shown in Fig. 6 to the positionshown in Fig. 7, where the panel is already pushed part way out of theframe member 28.

I claim:

l. A service door and emergency exit structure for aircraft having anouter surface formed with a service door opening therein, an annularservice door receivable in said service door opening having an emergencyexit opening therethrough surrounded by said door, flange meansprojecting from the periphery of said door in overlapping relation tothe inner face of the surface portion of the aircraft surrounding saidservice door opening, resilient sealing gasket means carried by saiddoor intermediate the overlapping portion of said flange and said innerface of the surface portion, hinge means within the aircraft connectedbetween said door and the inner face of said surface portion forswinging saidframe inwardly out of said service opening and outwardlyinto said serviceopening, retractable latch means carried by said door,strike members therefor carried on the inner face of the said surfaceportion receiving said latch means for retaining, said door in saidservice door opening, an emergency door panel overlapping the outersurface of the door around its periphery, an annular panel supportingframe secured to the inner face of said door panel, receivable in, andremovable out of said emergency exit opening in said service door,sealing gasket surrounding said emergency exit opening between theservice door and the periphery of the emergency exit panel, saidlatching means comprising retractable locking bolts each having anactuator receiving recess at its inner end facing inwardly of theaircraft, a plurality of bolt retracting actuators slidably carried bysaid emergency exit door panel structure each having an actuating headreceived in one of said recesses, leaf spring means carried by saidbolts for yieldably retaining said heads in said recesses, mannallyopenable actuator means carried by said emergency door panel andconnected to bolt retracting actuators for retracting said actuators tounlock said service door, separate locking members carried by saidemergency door panel for locking engagement with said service door,emergency exit panel release actuator means carried by said emergencyexitpanel for unlocking said separate locking members to release saidemergency exit panel from said service door including flexible actuatingconnectors connected between said last mentioned actuator means and saidseparate locking members, whereby release and outward displacement ofsaid emergency exit panel from said service door disengages the saidheads of said bolt retracting actuators from the recesses in theretractable service door locking bolts.

2. A combined service door and emergency exit structure for apressurized aircraft cabin having a service door receiving openingtherein, a service door framework swingably mounted within the aircraftfor movement into and out of said opening, said framework having anannular pressure sealing stop flange overlapping the inner portion ofthe aircraft surrounding said opening, annular pressure sealing gasketmeans surrounding said framework intermediate said flange and said innerface of the aircraft portion surrounding said opening sealing the spacebetween the flange and the opening, said framework having an emergencyexit opening therethrough and formed with an annular stop flange thereonextending into the emergency exit opening, an emergency exit door panelhaving an annular reinforcing framework around its periphery freelymovable into said exit opening from the exterior of the aircraft andformed with an annular stop flange thereon disposed for interengagementwith said stop flange on said service door framework, annular pressuresealing gasket means interposed between the service door and theemergency door annular flange, a plurality of retractable locking boltscarried by said service door annular flange in retractable lockingengagement with the aircraft structure surrounding said service dooropening, spring means between said bolts and said service door annularflange for projecting said bolts beyond the periphery of said servicedoor opening, strike members hired on the aircraft structure surroundingsaid service door opening for receiving engagement with the ends of saidbolts, service door release means carried by said emergency door panelfor retracting the service door locking" bolts from said strikes torelease said service door framework for inward swinging movement awayfrom said opening, separate retractable locking bolt means carried bysaid emergency door panel for projection, in the plane of said flanges,into interlocking engagement with said service door flange, spring meansconnected between said emergency exit door panel framework and said lastmentioned retractable locking bolt means for projecting the same intolocking engagement with said service door flange to retain the emergencyexit panel flange in the service door flange, actuating lever meanspivoted at the rear of the emergency exit door panel and swingablyinwardly, cable means connected between the lever means and the lastmentioned retractable bolt means for retraction thereof by saidlevermeans, and separable interconnecting means between the retractablelocking. bolt's car ried by said service door flange and said servicedoor release means carried by said emergency door panel,

separable by outward movement of the emergency exit door panel and itsflange from the service door flange, to prevent retracting of saidservice door locking bolts by its actuating means on the emergency exitdoor panel when the emergency door panel is removed from the emergencyexit door opening.

3. In a combined service and emergency door exit for an internallypressurized aircraft having a service door opening formed in the outersurface thereof, a service door framework disposed in said opening,hinge means mounted within the aircraft and connected to said frameworkfor swinging said framework inwardly of the aircraft out of saidopening, said framework having an annular flange overlapping the innerface of said surface surrounding said opening when said service doorframework is positioned in said opening, pressure sealing gasket meanssurrounding said service door framework intermediate said flange andsaid inner surface, said service door framework having an openingtherethrough forming an emergency exit opening, annular stop flangemeans projecting inwardly from said framework into said emergency exitopening, an emergency exit door framework receivable in said emergencyexit opening from the exterior of said aircraft having an emergency exitclosure panel thereon, stop flange means projecting from said emergencyexit framework into said emergency exit opening and facing inwardly forinward movement limiting engagement with the stop flange on said servicedoor framework, annular pressure sealing gasket means surrounding saidemergency exit opening between the stop flange on the emergency exitclosure panel framework and the stop flange therefor on the service doorframework, in pressure sealing relation there between when saidemergency exit door framework and its panel are positioned within saidemergency exit door opening, retractable service door locking bolt meanscarried by said service door framework in the plane thereof, lockingbolt receiving sockets carried by the interior of the aircraft surfaceadjacent the edge of the service door opening for receiving the outerends of the locking bolt means, spring means for projecting said 6locking bolt means into retaining engagement with said sockets, saidlocking bolt means comprising retractable bolts, each having a boltactuating recess therein adjacent its inner end facing inwardly of theaircraft, a locking bolt retractor rod for each bolt, slidably carriedon the emergency exit panel framework in alignment with each of saidretractable bolts formed with an actuating head at its outer endremovably disposed in said recess for disengagement therefrom by outwardmovement of said emergency exit closure panel framework and panel fromsaid emergency exit opening, common actuating means for said lockingbolt retractor rods mounted on said emergency door panel connected tosaid retractable bolt means for simultaneously retracting of saidlocking bolts from said sockets to unlock said service door framework, aplurality of latching bolt members slidably carried on said emergencyexit closure panel framework and panel having their outer ends ininterlocking engagement with the service door framework at spaced pointsaround the emergency exit opening therein, actuating lever means carriedon the emergency exit panel for retracting said latching bolts includinga plurality of flexible actuators connected between said lever means andsaid latching bolts for simultaneous actuation thereof by said levermeans, whereby release and outward displacement of the emergency exitclosure panel framework and panel from said emergency exit openingseparates the service door retractable locking bolts from theirretractor rods.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,389,315 Kerr Nov. 20, 1945 2,473,616 Stephenson June 21, 19492,498,527 Castle Feb. 21, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 604,929 Great BritainJuly 13, 1948 852,253 France Oct. 23, 1939 889,918 France Jan. 24, 1944

